Are DVDs Movies Or Software?

from the interesting-case dept

A very interesting article about a court case in Australia to see if DVDs are movies or software. It seems that Warner Brothers releases DVD movies in two "versions". One is expensive, for the rental market, and one is cheaper for the retail market. Of course, they're actually the same exact DVD. But now they're trying to sue shops that offer the retail (cheaper) DVD for rentals. Their argument is that the DVD is really software, which would allow them to have various licensing rights - such as not allowing the retail versions to be rented. This might be an important case to watch.